Red Dead Redemption 2 Online Beta Review

With the release of Red Dead Online, we figured it was time to give our overview of the vast and sprawling towns and ecosystems that make up the wild west multiplayer mayhem Rockstar has served up.

To say the map is big would be an understatement since developer Rockstar has already said this is the biggest and most detailed map they have produced to date. The multiplayer environment is every bit as immersive, detailed, and inhabited feeling as the single player with the added unexpected nature of other players in the same world. Everything you have heard about the visual and audio quality of the red dead world is present in the Online experience. Suffice to say the Red Dead Online delivers in the graphics and sound department.

With this being a multiplayer game, we should cover the variety of mode present. Much like other Rockstar open world games, looking at you GTA series, we have a dearth of shoot’em up game mode options. Red Dead Online features all the staple game modes in other similar titles with a few new items thrown in to spice things up. The show stopper is a new mode, Make It Count, Rockstar’s take on the battle royal. In the Make It Count every player is equip with nothing more then a Bow and a knife, it sounds limiting, but trust us the satisfaction of landing an insane bow shot does not get old fast. The round the modes with several team deathmatch, solo deathmatch and horse race modes to keep your adrenaline high.

If the battle and race modes are not for you then the game has numerous story missions that can be either run with you posse or via match making. As well as the story mission you can also be given random missions from NPC within the world and the decision you make will impact your characters honor/outlaw levels, more on that later. The missions are very similar to the single player in style and feel and that is a huge plus in helping to develop the relation ship between you and your character. The one draw back is the limited number of mission-based activities, but with this being labeled a BETA we expect Rockstar to add more with the full release and over the life of the game.

While Red Dead Online is a masterpiece of the open world genre, its not without its faults. The games economy is a real problem at this point and we expect it to be addressed quickly since it seems to be a common issue. The game drip feeds your money and its hard to get along without spending your meager earnings on basic survival supplies for you and your horse. The best cosmetic and gear options are locked behind gold, which can be acquired via real world money. While the game does have a way to earn gold in game, it will require upwards of 60hrs to get a full bar worth, and that won’t get you much.

Another issue we had is that the game does not feature a passive mode while free roaming. This lack of a passive mode means that your trips into the more populated towns to get refills on gear can result in getting grief by other players to an annoying effect. This was an odd omission for Rockstar, since GTA often features a passive way to travel that open world.

The few issues aside, Red Dead Redemption 2 Online are still a masterpiece of a game and we highly recommend everyone give it a try. From stunning vistas, dynamic weather and environments, to the chaotic outlaw gun fights, this game is a must buy. We look forward to sinking several more hours into the open world and will revisit our review once the online mode is fully released. All and all, Red Dead Redemption 2 Online gets the highest praise for the monumental detail and effort put into bringing the wild west to life. Red Dead Redemption 2 online gets a 9/10.